Oregon Wines With Portitude

Valentine’s Day is coming on quicker than a horny teenage boy, and the pressure to go big or go home can do a number on one’s inspiration, turning off even the most romantic of souls. This year, I suggest elevating your game by keeping it simple.

Trade in the cliché of red roses and jewelry for a homerun instead; a home-cooked meal followed by a glass of sensuous wine promises to be far more intimate, memorable and mood provoking than expensive trinkets and restaurant menus. Maybe I just have a bit of crush, but this much I know is true. There’s not much more titillating than a hearty meal and a provocative glass of Port. Pair this exotic and seductive wine with a selection of locally crafted dark chocolates, some Stilton cheese, and your Valentine of choice and you’ve got yourself a steamy and interactive dessert that’s sure to arouse your inner hedonist resulting in an evening of impassioned satisfaction.

Sex in a Bottle

Port has a long, dark history, almost as dark as the wine itself. True Ports are location-specific and can actually only be called Port if they’re from Portugal, one of the most quixotic places on Earth. And though there are many covetable bottles of Port available at your supermarket, many Oregon producers are crafting alluring and beguiling Port-style wines from a variety of wine grapes such as Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Syrah and even Marechal Foch.

Woo the wine lover in your life with a bottle of kissable Port or Port-style wines. Real Port is hot (and by hot I mean HOT as in not frigid – think salacious) but there are a number of Oregon brands producing their inspiration of this timeless beauty.

A word of warning: Be careful, these wines may appear as sweet and simple as the girl next door, but with higher alcohol levels, Port really packs a punch and technical knockout is not your goal. While a little buzz can lead to an amorous evening, respect the difference between making a pass and being passed out and keep your pours small… a little goes a long way.

Locally made Aphrodisiacs 

2008 Kramer Pinot Noir Port ($30)

A ruby-style wine tasting of bright raspberries, sweet cherry flambé with hints of cocoa enhanced by a good Stilton cheese. This dessert wine is lighter in style than traditional Port, but the Gamay Beaujolais complements both the region and your Valentine’s kiss.

2010 Coelho Serenidade Marichal Foch ($34)

Reflecting the family’s Portuguese heritage, this Port-style wine stands on its own when tasted side-by-side with the real deal. Just a few sips and you’ll be watching your partners lips wrap around the word “Mmmmmmm.” If you can keep your focus on the wine, you’ll find it to be silky and voluptuous, tasting of ripe blueberry, pomegranate, fig and caramel. Beautifully balanced, with just the right of amount of acidity, this luscious wine will not only mature with grace, it will leave your mouth watering. More, more, more.

2007 Brandborg Hurrah Syrah ($24)

When you want a little spice in your life, this is a go-to dessert wine. Press your partner up against the wall and lick them from head to toe with sweet blueberry and blackberry flavors that lead in to a fun and pleasing cinnamon and black pepper finish which really comes on strong when accompanied by dark chocolate. But then, who doesn’t?

2008 Troon Insomnia Port ($24)

The Tempranillo for this wine, grown in the Applegate Valley, creates a wine that says “Oh wow, holy cow.” Similar to a traditional Portuguese Port, the wine is rich with flavors of black currants and baking chocolate and is also reminiscent of a thick, sweet blackberry pancake syrup. This wine pairs best with creamy chocolate, salty cheese or your partner’s neck.

Seduction by Chocolate (and cheese)

Roll Chocolates (Portland, Oregon)

As impressive to look at as they are to eat, these chocolates are obviously made with passion, love and devotion. Their Salted Caramels are dreamy and creamy, but the Salted Almond Crunch is downright heavenly, with just right amount of smooth, dark ganache, caramelized almonds and sea salt. When paired with a glass of Port, you just might find yourself slipping off into a state of bliss. I discovered these irresistable treasures at Cana’sFeast Winery in Carlton, but they’re at various locations around town or obtainable by direct contact.

Legato Chocolate (Portland, Oregon)

Simply elegant with a kiss of panache, these chocolates are hot little numbers. Salacious enough on its own, the dark chocolate and cayenne pepper truffles enjoyed with a glass of Port were simply sizzling. These chocolates are not yet widely available, contact Legato directly to place your order.

Tree Bark - Strohmayer Fruit & Nut Co. (Hillsboro, Oregon)

Made of dark chocolate, dried pitted plums and Oregon hazelnuts, it’s a natural when paired with Port. Not overly sweet, the healthy fruit, nut and chocolate combination complements the wine with interest but without feeling overly indulgent.

After Effects (well, what I'm willing to share publicly)

Adendum
Draw her a piping hot bubble bath and she'll call you her hero.

In Honor of the Harvest… Romancing the Vine

He stands before her
She is naked
Innocent
Fresh
Exposed
Vulnerable
All life and limbs
She quivers
Feeling his hot breath on her bare extremities
Cutting the chill of the biting morning air

He stands before her

Coaxing from her

Gentle beauty

Development

Growth

Potential

All the promise of the future

He savors each moment with her

As if it’s their last

He’s tender

Gentle

Caring

Nurturing

Cultivating

He loves her

Sees things in her no other sees

He persuades her

Tugs on her

Pulls on her

Supports her

Tucks her in

Moves her where he wants her to be

She surrenders to his will

Lets him guide her

He stands before her

His strong and agile hands

So dirty

Fondling her

Flesh

Fruit

She submits
She succumbs

He stands before her

Charming her

Encouraging her

To finish

Pick

Pluck

He casts her off

To be savored by others

She stands alone

Stripped

Bare

Crushed

Squeezed

Squashed

Thinking only of him

He who allowed her to be

She retreats into herself

Quiet

Dormant

Still

She wonders if he even remembers

Knowing he thinks about the next

As she prepares to give all of herself

To her love

To him

Again.

Wrap Yourself Around Me — Wordless #WW

Erotic Art, 3D Labels and Freedom Rings

My gaze simultaneously melted and froze upon them… wrapped up, tied, knotted up, bound. I walked in the door to the live display by artist Lew Rubens featuring a rope suspension demonstration by two scantilly-clad women wrapped up in various displays of bondage, "interacting" with each other while suspended from 18-foot swings.

These brave women squirmed and writhed their bodies before a crowd of onlookers in an odd combination of grace and freedom juxtaposed against the limiting constraints of the ties that bound them. Independence. A glass of free but tasteless sparkling wine in hand, my mind first wondered why I wasn't drinking Naked Winery or even Hip Chicks Do Wine, what a missed opportunity for them, but then my silly little mind actually wandered (for a moment) to the similarities a winemaker might experience trying to delicately coax the fruit into brilliance, sometimes relying on intuition and instincts even when it goes against the confining and rigid formalities of education and expectation.

Ok, I know, first of all, how in the world do I let myself get dragged into these crazy things? And second, what in the world am I doing thinking about wine at a 3D Erotic Art and Live Bondage Exhibit? Tamara, get your mind out of the cellar. So, get there with me. Forget about the girls all tied up with string like pretty little packages, waiting to be unwrapped as they're swinging before you upside down, legs all awry for just a moment and focus on my words. FOCUS ON MY WORDS… 3D erotic art. The real reason I came. My friend told me about an erotic 3D art exhibit during Portland's First Thursday, and the geeky graphic designer and deep-down naughty girl in me were all but on fire—she neglected to mention the word "bondage." Hmmm. The real irony is we were supposed to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D earlier in the day, but plans fell through and we ended up viewing Bondage 3D art instead. I'm not sure which is better, world-class animation or world class-less art, but it did inspire an idea for a collectible wine label the likes of which I can't believe hasn't ever been done.

I want to design a 3-D wine label. How cool would that be? All I need is a winery who's looking for the most unique label ever imagined. How can I copywrite a concept? I'm picturing Owen Roe's Sinister Hand, actually looking like it's oozing blood. Or Van Duzer with all the godess's hair flying around - or perhaps it's a whole new story, you know how I love new stories. The 3D glasses could be included on the bottle that had contact info as well as a shelf talker. This would blow critter labels out of the water! I am often reminded how stories and inspiration are everywhere, sometimes in the most unexpected places, if we remain open to them, even when it goes against formalities and expectation. Take an example from me this holiday weekend… relax, open your mind, shake loose whatever ties are binding you and just let freedom ring. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Wordless #WineWednesday - Now That's What I Call a Rack!

Seduce Your Palate: Why Wine and Food are Better than Sex

Recently, while out for a very romantic dinner at Allium Bistro, I was seemingly participating in what could have been a culinary orgy when it occurred to me that wine and food might just be better than sex—even really good sex! Yeah, that's right, I said it. Read my guest post on DRINKnectar and find out why!

It's So Much More Than Just a Score

While out wine tasting one afternoon in Oregon’s awe-inspiring Willamette Valley, I drove past abundant fruit and nut orchards positively bursting with spring life, so much so I could practically feel the innocent white and nearly neon-green colors, full of life and energy, oozing from the dead, brown limbs as the pristine blossoms and brand new leaves took hold, veritably spreading themselves onto the canvas. Even in Oregon (“the Green State”), winter marks the land with a barrenness—empty as an infertile womb— creating a longing for growth which only spring can fill. No matter how many times I drive these same stretches of rolling pavement, the seasonality creates a colorful landscape whose scene is ever-changing, like I’m looking at a whole new painting each time I pass by. I thought to myself, wow, if only everybody, everywhere could see this. Could a photo capture even a hint of the color or a glimmer of this mood?

I recently read something in a comment stream from Palate Press’s article about why people don’t read wine blogs. Jeff Siegel of The Wine Curmudgeon said this: Nobody wants to read about your drive up to the winery.

This remark didn’t really get me stirred up at first—not until the next time I was actually driving up to a winery. Then, I couldn’t escape the voices in my head as they taunted and teased me… Really? No one wants to hear about this stuff? People don’t want to have the scene dramatically set with an intricate depiction of the wineries, their vineyards and the countryside elaborately painted for them using only the power of creative imagery and the written word?

My fear is that next, I’m going to hear someone spouting how no one wants to read about anybody’s personal journeys through wine either.

One of the many things I’ve discovered along my travels thus far is in order to really learn about a wine, you must immerse yourself in more than just the look, smell, taste and score of the fermented fruit beverage. This immersion requires engaging all five senses, visual included of course. But I’m talking beyond what color the wine is in your glass and how viscous or thin it appears. It’s certainly a whole lot more than how that label looks and whether it’s a classic Old World or funky, kitschy or colorful modern design… and it’s clearly more than the shape of the bottle. All these things together though, along with a million other unknown influences as well, do flavor our experience; hence the argument for blind tasting (meaning you cover up the bottle so you can’t see the producer, label, varietal, etc… when you taste it).

This may sound silly to some, but studies have shown that something as simple as the color of the room will flavor your tasting experience. So unless you’re actually blindfolded while tasting that wine, your impression of a wine is even bound to be influenced by where that wine’s consumed. Think about it this way, will that glass of Archery Summit Pinot Noir taste the same if you were to drink it at say Chuck E Cheese’s as it would if it were slowly sipped from fine crystal stemware on the elegantly casual wine country deck perched high atop the Red Hills of Dundee overlooking the fertile Willamette Valley with majestic views of Mt Hood that may very well take your breath away? I doubt it.

The reason a wine sometimes tastes so much better at the winery (perhaps Robert Parker is onto something?) seems obvious, but really it’s not. It’s not simply the color and lighting in the tasting room, or that the wine has been stored properly (at its source) and hasn’t’ traveled by unrefrigerated trucks and then displayed on warm, well-lit shelves for months. It’s not just the emotions evoked when you were driving up to the winery, passed neatly spaced rows of old vineyards dripping with ripening grape clusters or that you’re drinking it with Mr. McSteamy- or Mrs. McDreamy-Winemaker, absorbing some of their passion as they divulge the deepest, darkest secrets about that wine in your glass. For instance, as you remark about the forest floor aromatics you pick up on the wine, the winemaker heartily laughs as he tells you a story about the clumsy Kiwi harvest worker who would tromp around the muddy vineyard each morning measuring the brix and then return to the winery to do punch downs without changing his boots. Well, after slipping and falling into the fermenter twice, they found another job for him, but admitted that vintage seemed very earthy.

All kidding aside, it really must be a combination of the factors I mentioned, and more, because for most, the wine tasting experience is quixotic—involving elements of romance, ideals, impracticality and mysticism that aren’t as much physical as they are mental and psychological, yet all individually unique and precisely unpredictable. And it’s all of these ingredients, which come together to create, and image and construct a more powerful memory of wine, one you’ll sincerely take to heart. Can a blind tasting or numbered score do that?

In article published on Palate Press called Wine Writing in the Time of Technology, Ben Simons of Vinotology eloquently said, "Ultimately, those of us who write about wine are looking for the best way to describe an experience that is inherently personal and subjective." I couldn't agree more. My job, and greatest challenge as the chief and only writer for Sip with Me, is to convey the complete experience to my readers so they can have a genuine appreciation of a producer, help them develop a profound relationship with that wine by understanding the setting, the history, the background, the people, the hardships…, because (and I’m going out on a limb here, though I am firmly braced so bring it) a glass of wine is sometimes more than just a glass of wine and how it tastes blind. Oh shit, Yes, I said it—publicly.

Don’t get me wrong, while I support wine rating systems on most levels, I also feel that taste is always entirely subjective and even a perfectly balanced, well made wine may just not appeal to even the most knowledgeable and/or educated wine drinkers and might even taste and score differently to that same person depending on how green the room was, their own body’s pH level, what they ate for breakfast, who is sitting next to them or what past memories they might bring to the tasting table.

I’m certain there will always be those on either side of the fence; some want analytical reviews while others will seek personal accounts by someone whose passion allows them to explore a deeper, more intimate relationship with wine and values the complexity of information as much as they value the complexity of the wine they imbibe. I write for those looking for personal anecdotes, an escape from the everyday, some interesting historical morsel that makes a wine or winery more relevant or perhaps that sumpin, sumpin that just makes that wine a bit more sexy, because in the end, I believe it’s these genuine connections that enhance the wine tasting experience and make that wine utterly unforgettable.

Next time you open a bottle, pay attention to the evocative sound of the cork pop, listening to the age and the passage of time as it slowly leaks from the bottle. Pour yourself a glass, both watching and hearing the wine as it splashes against the bottom and begins to fill the glass. Hear the thick glug, glug, glug sound change in pitch and timbre as the glass fills up, triggering a sense of excited anticipation. (Mmm, did I just see you lick your lips?) If you perceive any of these things when you open a bottle, you can certainly relate to and must appreciate the enchantment each and every glass conjures up; just a little something to think about. Until we sip again…

Cheers!